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(d) there is personal transformation which involves closing the gap between knowing and being, and overcoming the dissociation between belief and behavior.<ref name=":1" />
 
(d) there is personal transformation which involves closing the gap between knowing and being, and overcoming the dissociation between belief and behavior.<ref name=":1" />
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== Effects of Meditation ==
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Contemporary research does suggest, if not establish, that practice of meditation may indeed produce some cognitive, emotive and conative effects that are not only interesting in themselves but also have positive applications for one’s health and well-being.<ref name=":1" />
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=== Spiritual development ===
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Yoga’s ultimate goal of kaivalya is linked with spiritual liberation and transformation of the person. Kristeller and Rikhye (2008) refer to two separate aspects relating to the effects of meditation on spiritual development.
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* those experiences that are accessible within a normal range of consciousness
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* altered states encompassing mystical, psychic or paranormal effects” (p. 520).
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The link of meditation to health is obvious if we connect meditation with spiritual development. However, the main problem is defining spirituality and its identifying criteria.<ref name=":1" />
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=== Cognitive Effects ===
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Much of information processing cognitive activity goes on at the nonconscious subliminal level and involves various parts of the brain. Meditation involves focused attention. Further it also disengages the normal, habitual attentional processes such as scanning and analyzing so that the person can cultivate different kinds of engagement. This kind of disengagement from the usual and cultivation of new forms of engagement, as Kristeller and Rikhye (2008) point out, may be responsible for improved cognitive functions following meditation.
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There is evidence for improved memory, learning ability, and cognitive flexibility with practice of meditation. A meta-analysis of 34 studies related to cognition and meditation by Sedlmeier et al. (2008) support the notion that meditation may enhance cognitive skills involved in tasks of concentration and memory. Again, in the same analysis, six studies with intelligence test measures also show a positive effect with meditation.<ref name=":1" />
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=== Conative Effects ===
    
== References ==
 
== References ==

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